Stitching-machine



L NASMITH. STITCHING MACHINE. APPLICATION man u:c.2o, 191s.

PatentedJuly 13, 1920.

-2LSHEETS-SHEET I.

J. W. NASMITH.

STITCHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.20, 1.91s.

Patented July 13, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

JOHN W. NASMITH, 0F HEA'ION MERSEY, ENGLAND.

STITGHING-MAQHINE;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Ju1y13, 1920.

Application filed. December 20, 1918. Serial No. 267,623.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN IVILLIAM NA- sMrrH, of Heaton Mersey, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stitching- Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in wire stitching machines and the like for stitching cardboard or wooden boxes, papers, pamphlets, etc., with wire and will be fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with this invention and Fig. 2 is a partial end elevation. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a cross stitcher and Figs. i and 5 are enlarged sectional views of the forming and driving parts.

It is desirable that wire stitching machines should be so constructed that material varying in thickness from a thin paper to an inch or more may be stitched. In order that this may be possible it is neces sary, firstly that the space between the block or anvil on which the material is placed and the end of the stroke of the ram or driver of the staple can be quickly altered to suit and secondly, that the length of wire fed and cut off toform the staple can be quickly altered so that the legs of the staple when formed may be of sufiicient length to suit the thickness of the material with the necessary surplus for clenching.

Machines have been constructed in which as small variation in the length of leg is possible by a simple adjustment butin machines where a large variation is required the anvil or block is first adjusted to suit the thickness of material to be stitched and then an independent adjustment adds or subtracts a fixed amount to each leg, 3; for example, which may not be in strict proper relation to the change in thickness of material, being either too much or too little to make a satisfactory clench.

Next when the ram has completely driven the staple and is pressing down upon it, it is desirable that it should dwell there for an instant while the clenching is done. This has been done in the case of treadle machines in which the ram is operated by a cam but in power machines the ram or staple driver is operated by a crank, and finally, in such machines the staple-wire feed is conven- Various forms of gripper are in use to prevent the wire from falling out of the notch in the loop bar when the former and driver are raised and leave the notch exposed and they require special operative mechanism to put them in andout of action. I desire to combine a simple gripper with the frog supporting the legs of the staple while it is being driven, which requires no special mechanism to operate it, and is pushed aside by the driver itself as it descends.

The object of my invention is therefore to provide means whereby the displacement of the anvil automatically and simultaneously adjusts the feed and cut-off in exact proportion so that the surplus allowed in the construction of the machine for the purpose of clenching remains always the fixed and proper amount. I also provide means to cause the driver driven by a crank, to dwell while clenching takes place and to provide a simple gripper combined with the frog that requires no operative parts.

In carrying my invention into effect I mount the anvil or carrier B which is provided with a tongue B on the back fitting accurately between planed vertical ribs R cast on the frame F of the machine. A; bolt 1 passes through a vertical slot i in the frame F and through a hole in the block or carrier B and anvil A and is provided with a screwed clamping handle H whereby the carrier and anvil can be firmly secured to the ribs It. To facilitate the displacement of the anvil when the bolt is slackened, the handle L is provided. It pivots freely on the fixed stud" 2 and has fixed in it a pin 3 which engages in a notch or slot 3 formed in the anvil.

The carrier B is formed with a prolongation B which slides accurately between two further ribs R cast upon the framing F;

The prolongation B has accurately formed on its face in su table position a projecting A, Fig. 1, firmly in a block formed. '1 V v I on the back which fits accordingly in a horibead I inclined at 415 to the vertical. This bead or incline I engages in a corresponding groove in the back ofthe bar. or sllde 4 which is let. into correspondin grooves formed horizontally in the ribs when E is raised or lowered. The screwed end of the slide 1' is secured to a bracket T which is in turn pinned to. theplate P. This plate P has fixed onits front face the cut oil knife carrier K, and its knife K which are of the ordinary kind and need not be further described except to note that the knife and its carrier participate in any displacement of the plate P. The fixed line 'QQ represents the centerof the staple when he plate P has a tongue formed zontal grooveiinthe finished face 5 cast on theframe F in which is also the slot X through which passes the clamping screw 6. whereby the plate P is secured to the face 5.

Thefeed gripper G is of the ordinary kindand need not be described in detail and may be;v replaced by the ordinary wheel and. It receivesa horizontal to and fro.

ratchet. movement throughthe link 7 from the lever Vrocking' onthe fixed pivot 8 under the influenceof the cam M. .When moved to the left it grips and feeds the wire, when moved toward the right it slides along the. wire without moving it.

The upper part of thelever- Vis precisely half the length of the lower or pendant part. Exactly midway in the lower part is the steel point O which comes and rests against a set screw or stop? carried in the bracket T. The cam M has its face formed so as togive the maximum feed required. When only the minimumfeed is required the roller W at the extremity of tliic'upper part of the lever V only touches thehighest part of the cam M since it cannot follow it furtherthan allowed bythe stop 9. The cam M islkeyed upontherevolv ng driving shaft receiving its motion from a driving pullev through a I one revolution clutch in the ordinary way.

Fig. 1 showsthe parts in position to give the minimum feed and shortest staple and the cut-oil knife K in. its nearest position to the center line QC} of the staple. If new the -:clamping screw 1 and the handle H be V the thinnest material and turn a boxraploosened, the an vil-can be lowered to increase v thedistance Z to accommodate afthicker materi al.; (It will be understood-that a con-j siderable space is required hereto insert idly without withdrawing it from the anvil,

the end of the staple former and driverin performing their stroke traversing this ,dis-

tance to comedown on the material on'the V anvil.) But-by-meansof the incline I, the

.bar 4, bracket T and screw 9 the plate lt 'and a plate E keeps the slide 1 in the. grooves while leaving it free to slide horizontally allows.

knife K cuts offthe wire'so much farther from the center line QQ of the staple and provides the necessary addition to the right leg of the staple. But the left legmust also be lengthened by a similar amount and to do this the lowerextremity of the lever V is drawn by the spring 10 double the distance that the screw 9 has moved and brings the roller W nearer the face of'the cam M, causing a greater amount of the throw of the cam M to come into operation, the feed being thus increased by double the amount thatthe anvil has been lowered so as to supply the exact addition to each leg of the staple. Similarly the reversev operation shortens the legs and the cut-off.

In place of the incline I, levers may be used to'connect the block to thecut ofi' plate- P and'the feed regulating bracket T, as shown in Fig- 3 which is an application to amachine in which the staple is across instead of lengthwise of the anvil. The shaft 11 has pinned on its forward end a lever 12 the lower end of which is forked to engage with a pin 13 which serves also as the clamping screw for the plate P. 'On the other end of the shaft ,11 is pinneda second'lever 1 1 at right angles to the lever 12. 7 At its free end it carries a pin 15 engaging in a slot 16 in a bracket 17 fixed on the projection B of the anvil block B. In this arrangement lever'V is in two, parts V and V Fig. 3, the upper part V being rocked by an eccentric W in place of a cam and the pivot 8 is carried on an arm 37 cast on the head 28. The upper lever V with the set screw V in its lower limb V always rocks the full throw of the eccentric to give the maximum feed. The lower lever V can only followunder the influence of its spring 10 as far as the screw 9 tact with V and continues to move'to the right. From this it will be'seen that the raising or loweringof the anvil block B pro duces a correspondin displacement ofjthe plate P with its knifeii and feed regulation bracketT, altering the feed and cut-off as already described.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 the cam C is shown in its position when the machine is at rest. 18 is apin fixed in the face of the cam C and has onits outer face a roller 19 running in the slot of the part 20 which is firmly attached by the screws 21-to the staple driver 22; As the cam C revolvesthe driver is lowered and raised and in order that it may have a n omentarv dwell when at the bottom a is an arc of a circle having the same radius as the circle described by the pin 18 in the face of thecam. .The driveris at the bottom of its stroke when the roller 19 enters the 1 The set screw V then ceases to condepression and is held there till the bowl has traversed the depression, during which time the clench has been made.

The frog 2st (Figs. 2, t and 5) is firmlv secured to a pendant 25 which is hinged on a pin 26 in a plate 27 formed on the top of the plunger 27 and fitting between the forked upper end 25 plunger passes freely through a hole drilled in the head 28. On its lower end is a washer 29 which limits the upward movement under the influence of the spring 30. One member of the forked end 25 of the pendant 25 passes on either side of the staple former 31 and their outer ends are connected by the pin 32 against which rests the fixed spring 30. The effect of this spring is to keep the pendant always against the stop washer 29 except when carried down by the projection 31 on the former 31 coming on the plate 27 on the plunger 27. It also keeps the frog constantly in the forked lower end of the former till I pushed aside by the driver as it drives the sta )le.

narrow slit or groove 24; Fig. L is formed in the middle of the frog 24: in which lies a steel blade 33 pivoted at 3?. and pushed constantly forward by the spring 35 (Figs. i and 5). In Fig. 4 the parts are seen in position when the machine is at rest and the cut off length of wire 36 (the end of which only is seen) is in position so that when the former 31 descends the wire will be bent on each side of the loop bar 38 into the staple former and held by the gripper 33 in the nick in the loop bar 38.

Fig. 5 shows the parts in the positions they occupy when the feed is just finished and the wirehas been cut off. The rising former 31 and driver 22 cover the end of the loop bar 38 so that the cut off length of wire cannot fall out and the driver is provided in its lower end with a narrow slit through which the gripper 33 is pushed by the spring 35 before the driver has passed off the end of the loop bar 38., As soon as this takes place the loop bar under the influence of its stronger spring 39 is pushed to its initial position carrying the gripper back with it, since spring 35 is only weak compared with 39. The wire is therefore constantly held after being cut off and cannot fall out of the loop bar and no special parts are required to operate the gripper.

It will be seen that the anvil is adjustable in a predetermined path, and that the path of the reciprocating knife K of the wire-cutting mechanism is adjustable in a direction substantially at right angles with the path in which the anvil is adjustable. It will also be seen that connections are provided between the anvil, the cutting mechanism and the feeding mechanism (which includes a gripper and gripper-reciprocating means,) said connections being actuated by of the pendant 25. Thea given adjustment of the anvil to cause an equal adjustment of the path of the knife, and a proportional increase or decrease of the length of travel of the said gripper, the construction and arrangement being as described, so that any adjustment of the anvil causes the formation of staple legs of equal length in proportion to the adjustment of the anvil.

Claims 1. A wire stitching machine comprising an anvil adjustable in a predetermined path, means for positively securing the anvil at any point to which it is adjustable, a wire feeding mechanism including a wire gripper adapted to alternately feed and release the wire, gripper reciprocating means comprising a cam, and a two-armed lever having arms of unequal length, the longer arm be ing connected with the wire gripper and the shorter arm being in the path of said cam, a wire-cutting mechanism including a reciprocating knife-carrier having a knife adapted to cut the wire fed by the feeding mechanism, the path of said knife-carrier being adjustable in a direction substantially at right angles with the path in which the anvil is adjustable, and connections between the anvil, the knife-carrier and the gripperreciprocating means, actuated by a given adjustment of the anvil to cause and maintain an equal adjustment of the path of the knife-carrier and to cause and maintain a proportional increase or decrease in the length of travel of the gripper, the said connections including an anvil carrier movable in fixed guides, and a slide movable in a path at right angles with the path of the anvil carrier, means being provided for causing the anvil, when moved, to adjust the slide an equal amount, and a stop also connected with and movable by the slide and arranged to limit the movement of the shorter lever arm toward said cam, the construction and arrangement being such that any adjustment of the anvil causes the formation of staple legs of equal length pro- J. W. NASMITH.

Witnesses:

J. D. HUDLns'roN, HERBERT LIVESEY. 

